Thoughts on what it means to be a traveler on the Way of Jesus the Christ

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

God's Servants Are Never Retired

1 Samuel 3:1-21

Since
Samuel is a child when God calls him and his work as a prophet begins
immediately, this story usually focuses on that fact alone. We use that
information to underline the fact that God calls and works through all kinds of
people- regardless of age, experience, or even knowledge of the Lord (see:
“Samuel did not yet know the Lord”). Many of us have heard this part of the
story lifted up so many times; we begin to miss the other details in the story.

Pretend
you never heard this story before. This is entirely fresh to you- as an adult.
You have not been hearing about Samuel for 20, 30, 40, 70 years. Instead,
you’re hearing this for the first time.

What might stand out to you?

-Eli knows who is talking to Samuel.

-Eli is punished for his sons’ misdeeds (or for ignoring them).

-Eli’s call is undone so that Samuel can be called.

-Samuel’s first experience as a prophet is to retire his predecessor.

How is God’s character portrayed in this story? Is
this a God you want to serve? A God who calls and speaks through children, that
sounds hopeful and promising. A God who withdraws favor without warning… less
hopeful. If this were the first Bible story you ever heard as an adult, what
would you think about God?

It’s
important to remember that 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings are written down
for the preservation of the life and lineage of David. Everyone else is a
footnote in that story. The recorders are not interested in what happened to
Samuel, Saul, Eli, or anyone else beyond their role in the story of David.

Eli is a temple priest in the time of the Judges.
The book of Judges closes with the acknowledgment that there was no king in
Israel, so everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Part of this
statement is technically untrue. There was always a king in Israel. Who was the
king? God. With God as a king, the leaders of the people were ones who pointed
to God and to God’s expectations. This would have been Eli’s call and work. At
some point, he wasn’t able to do that work. He apparently fell short in
training his sons correctly or in sufficiently correcting them when they “did
what was right in their own eyes”.

This
passage opens with the note that the “word of the Lord was rare in those days”.
Does that mean that the Lord wasn’t speaking or that people weren’t listening?
I know for a fact that I can tell my son to four or five times to put on his
shoes before it finally happens. Is the word of his mother rare, unheard, or
unheeded (or some combination thereof)? So Eli has given his life to the
service of God. Maybe that service interfered with his ability to be a good
parent. Nevertheless, Eli is released from service, which has the distinct look
of falling out of favor with God.

We’ve
already discussed how God comes across in this story (uncaring, cold,
capricious). Is that your experience of God? Is that the scope of God’s
character as revealed elsewhere in Scripture? If you think about the Bible as a
whole, how does God come across?

Part
of reading this story is pulling away from its narrow understanding of
vocation. When we do that in the story, we also have to do it in our daily
lives. We have a tendency to judge our own worth and the value of those around
us based on the work they do for pay or on the “success” of their
relationships. Paid work has more value than unpaid work. Parenthood has more
value than being an uncle or an aunt. Being a widow or widower has a higher
perceived rating than being divorced. The CEO has more value than the
kindergarten teacher who has more value than the garbage collector.

Our
culture has a ranking system based on perceived contributions to society and
status therein. We study people for how they fit into the categories we’ve been
taught. Occasionally, we’re able to move things around, when a child receives a
clear call from God- for example, but otherwise, we keep things the same.
Furthermore, as society works to uphold that framework, God’s favor is subtly
(or not) attached to the status of higher value. Surely a better position,
family success, material wealth… etc. are all signs of God’s favor. And which
comes first- God’s favor, then success? Or success, and then God’s favor?

When
the writers of 1 Samuel begin to write for the main purpose of recording the
life of David, it seemed obvious to them that Eli had lost God’s favor. How
could God call Samuel, if God doesn’t first “uncall” Eli? And once Eli is no
longer the chief priest, who cares what happens to him?

Except
that his priesthood is not the only way God could use him. It may well not be
the only way God did use him. Eli is still a father, perhaps still a husband, a
father-in-law, maybe a grandfather, a neighbor, a Jew, a child of God. While he
might no longer have paid work, he is not outside of God’s plans or God’s
ability to use him.

So
we too have multiple vocations… paid worker, volunteer, spouse or partner,
sibling, child, parent, friend, neighbor, citizen, library card holder,
sandwich maker,… etc. The end of any one of these roles does not indicate a
withdrawal of God’s favor. It does not signify the end of that relationship. It
does not put you or me or Eli or anyone else beyond the ability of God to use
or to bring about God’s kingdom through us.

When
Peter and Andrew stopped fishing, they started following Jesus. They became
disciples. However, they were still husbands, children, friends, and Jews. They
still had other defining characteristics. Each of those vocations was now
shaped by following Jesus. Their other relationships changed, didn’t end, but
were changed by their new understanding of what it meant to be a child of God.

That
same meaning is part of our lives. All that we do is shaped by what it means to
be a child of God- as we have seen God revealed in Jesus. When we hear the
Scriptures, we are called to always listen with new ears. Each of us is also a
Bible interpreter- not for ourselves or to make things easier, but for the sake
of the people around us and for God’s sake.

Despite
how the story is recorded, God wasn’t done with Eli. Neither is God done with
any of us when one chapter ends and another begins. God’s favor is not revealed
through success or failure, but through grace and the ever-present promise of
renewal and abundant life. That’s good news that we are to take to heart. And,
more specifically, that’s the good news we are to take into the world.

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About Me

I serve as the ordained pastor of the Lutheran Church of Hope. This blog is a chance for me to write about some of the things I think about related to God, being a pastor, and life in general. This blog is my own opinions and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of all or any of the people I serve, the ELCA, or anyone else, but me.